Fading Sunshine
by AppleCiderr
Summary: Hinata gains horrible and permanent an injury, he can never play volleyball again. They lose to Shiratorizawa, and in their selfish rage, the teeam blames Hinata. The bullying goes too far after Hinata's confession to Kageyama goes wrong, leaving Hinata to suffer until he hits the breaking point. Once he does he moves away, can a guilty Karasuno make up for their cruelty?
1. Chapter 1

_**Trigger Warning for Chapter 1:**_

 ** _Permanent Injury, Major Character Injury, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence,_**

 _ **Violence, Aftermath of Violence, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – PTSD, Suicide Attempt, Bullying, Rumors, Depression, Panic Attacks, Social Anxiety, Anxiety Disorder, Assault**_

 _ **The first few chapters will be very angsty, so enjoy!**_

– – – – – –

The first thing that registered to Hinata was that his head really, really hurt. The second thing that Hinata registered was that his leg felt just about the same. The orangette groaned, bringing up a hand to cover his eyes, as the lights in his room threatened to break through his veils from sleep. After a few vain attempts, Hinata's hand went up to his hair, grabbing at it in pain, and forcing his eyes to open a little bit.

It was in this moment that Hinata realized that this wasn't his room. The walls, ceiling, side table, and bed were all white. He turned to his left, seeing the medical equipment. Oh, he was in a hospital.. "Huh..?" He asked, attempting to push up on his hands and pull his legs forward. However, a sudden sharp, and horrible pain spiked up his right leg. It felt like hot needles were stabbing him over and over.

Hinata tried to put his leg back down to ease the pain, but it only made it worse. He whimpered loudly, freezing up completely, and breathing hard. It hurt so bad, he felt like he couldn't even speak. There was a sound of a door opening behind him, but Hinata was too busy whimpering to notice, tears streaming down his cheeks.

There was a gasp, as someone dropped what they were holding and ran over. Their arms wrapped around Hinata's neck, hugging him gently as they pet his hair. "It's okay Hinata, it's me, it's your mother," She whispered softly.

"M-mom..?" Hinata squeaked out,"It hurts so bad.. W-why does it hurt so bad? W-what happened?!" His hands grasped for his mother's purple shirt, clutching it tightly as he choked on his own breath.

Her mother cooed at him, but for a moment she didn't reply, then she whispered,"I think it would be best if the doctor explained it to you, sweetheart.."

There was something in her tone that made Hinata nervous, but all he could do was force his breathing out and in, over and over. Finally, the doctor walked into the room, bringing an air of tension with him. Hinata turned his head weakly towards the door, keeping the rest of his body from moving.

The doctor was looking at him, a forced smile on his face. "Hello Shouyou-kun, I'm doctor Kusama Nowaki, might I ask how you're feeling today?" He asked softly.

"Hurts," Hinata grunted out, his red rimmed eyes watching the doctor with a mixture of suspicion and confusion. What was _so_ important that his mother couldn't just tell him right now? "What h-happened to m-me?" He asked softly.

Nowaki looked pained for a moment, as he then looked down at the clipboard again. "Well, during your volleyball game, it seemed that between you jumping up to get the ball and landing, your leg was injured on the inside," He explained.

"Oh.." Hinata said, as a fleeting question in his head wondered whether they had won or not. But that wasn't his main focus now, he had another question. "How long will it be before I can play volleyball again?" He asked hopefully, smiling through the pain.

His mother's arm tensed around him, and the doctor looked even more morose than before. "That's.. The thing about all this," Nowaki slowly began,"You.. Will never play any sport ever again."

Hinata's heart dropped, his whole body seemed to suddenly go cold. "W-what..?" He stuttered out, eyes growing moist,"W-w-why?"

"When you gained your injury, Hinata-kun, I'm afraid that the ligaments in the back of your knee tore beyond repair. We guess it was because of overworking yourself," The doctor explained,"But that wasn't it. You gained a meniscus tear, or a torn knee cartilage from putting pressure on or rotating the knee joint during this. There is no way to fix this. You'll need a brace to even walk, and I'm afraid you may have this pain for the rest of your life.. I'm sorry that we couldn't fix it."

Hinata's eyes went numb, empty of emotion. He felt himself relax in his mother's arms more, as he softly whispered,"Oh.. Okay."

The doctor seemed slightly disturbed at Hinata's small reaction, and then declared,"I'm going to give you some medicine in your IV, it'll dull the pain for a while and might put you to sleep, okay?" Hinata nodded emptily, and then allowed the doctor to do what he needed as he closed his own eyes.

They whispered about him, his mother concerned about his reaction. It wasn't that Hinata didn't care about volleyball, it was his whole life. And with the way people treated him about it his whole life, he was used to hearing that he 'couldn't' or that he would 'never play'. But he always had the ability to prove them wrong, until now.

To feel this feeling of helplessness, to hear that there was nothing he could do, and that trying would only end with this being worse. He didn't know how to react, so him simply didn't. He just felt numb, he ignored the emotions inside of him.

Even the painful nails of despair clawing at his heart.

One Week Later

After getting the brace, a forearm crutch to help him walk until he was used to it, and the pain medication, there was no other reason for Hinata to stay in the hospital anymore. The doctor told Hinata that he may be able to get knee replacement surgery as an adult, if he wanted, and then maybe then he would be able to play sports. Not competitively, but just for fun. Hinata didn't care, at least he may have hope.

Now he was going back to school, with several questions. He now knew they lost the game against Shiratorizawa, which upset him greatly. But he knew his team, they'd bounce right back. He knew they would support him and help him with his new issue, at least that's what he saw it as. He knew they would, because he would do the same thing if it happened to one of them. They were a team, of course they would.. Even though none of them visited him during the entire week, or replied to his texts, or answered his calls..

 _They were probably busy catching up on schoolwork.._ Hinata told himself, still feeling a little drowsy. His leg didn't hurt, only thanks to the painkillers he had. But they, unfortunately left him feeling tired. That didn't help him with his struggle in learning how to walk with the brace and crutch.

He struggled to his class, opening the door. _Jeez, even on a bad day I get to school earlier.._ Hinata thought sadly, wishing he could have woke up and rode his bike. He shook those thoughts off, noticing Kageyama nearby. He was finishing up his homework before class, his eyes flashed up towards Hinata for a split second before they darkened, and he looked back down.

"Bakageyama!" Hinata exclaimed, frowning, he limped his way over to the black haired male and tapping his other hand on his desk. "Oi, how has the team been? I heard about us losing, is everyone okay?" He asked,"I didn't see anyone, nobody visited me."

Kageyama turned his head slightly away from Hinata, and didn't answer. For reasons Hinata didn't want to admit how much it was actually hurting his feelings. So instead, he demanded,"Are you even listening to me?!" 

The bell suddenly rang, and students began flowing in quickly. Hinata frowned, sending once last confused look at Kageyama before he moved to his own seat. The teacher walked in, making it impossible for him to even try and ask why Kageyama was ignoring him. It wasn't that he was expecting any coddling, but he and Kageyama tended to talk or argue until class started. _Why is he ignoring me?_ Hinata wondered, part of him also wondered if he wanted an answer to such a question.

He was afraid of what he may hear

When break time finally rolled around, Kageyama stood up and walked over to where Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were. Hinata frowned, before standing up. He stumbled a bit, before walking over. "W-wait! Guys!" He exclaimed,"Where are we going to eat today?"

Tsukishima turned over to him, raising his lips in a sneer. "And why would we eat with you anymore?" He asked, before a condescending smirk came over his face.

Hinata frowned, leaning back a bit in confusion. "H-Huh?" He asked, tilting his heads,"Because we were teammates.. And we're friends..?"

"Why would any of us stay friends with the person who made us lose the game?" Kageyama suddenly, angrily snapped.

Hinata turned to him so fast, he almost gained whiplash. "What?! I wasn't even playing at the end, how did I make us lose?!" He exclaimed in return, feeling his whole body begin to go cold with fear.

Tsukishima pointed at his crutch, and said,"That injury is your fault. You and your stupidity. You made us lose in front of everyone because we couldn't use you. We lost the glory, now everyone thinks we just got lucky."

"Since when has us playing been about glory?!" Hinata exclaimed,"We were playing as a team, playing to play! This never wasn't about fame!"

Kageyama then angrily snapped,"It doesn't matter what you think anymore Hinata! With that leg, you aren't on the team, you're aren't my setter, you aren't invincible! There's nothing productive you can do for us or anyone else with that leg! You're _useless!_ And that's all you'll ever be now!"

Hinata froze up, releasing a gasp. _Useless..?_ He felt his heart twist and constrict violently, staring at them in shock. Tsukishima merely inclined his head, and then walked away. Kageyama followed him, but Yamaguchi took longer. He stared at Hinata, whose eyes had grown misty, and Yamaguchi's own eyes filled up with a strange emotion, before he quickly followed after the other three.

Hinata brought his hand up, violently rubbing his eyes before forcing himself to limp as fast as he could after them. He watched them walk up the stairs towards the roof, none of them looking back at him. He felt so hurt, that he didn't know how to go about reacting. He didn't know if he should yell or cry. Hinata wanted to go after them, but the large stairs leading up to the second story of the school suddenly made him feel nauseous. It was just.. So much.

Suddenly, he became aware of the people around him. Almost all the students around him were staring at him, whispering things. He heard it all, everything they were saying.

"He looks smaller with that crutch.."

"Bet he can't jump anymore."

"I heard they kicked him off the team."

"I heard that he injured himself on purpose so his team would lose."

"Now everyone is laughing at Karasuno."

"He just _had_ to ruin it for everyone, didn't he?"

Hinata quickly twisted around, ignoring the sharp pain as he limped down the hall, past so many rude pairs of eyes. He went into the bathroom, finding a stall and shutting it, locking it tight. Nobody followed him in, thank God..

He leaned against the wall, breathing hard as tears began tumbling down his cheeks. Food didn't sound good right now, nothing sounded good right now. He felt like he would throw up, his head was spinning, he felt so confused. But in that moment he didn't care, he didn't care about anything.

He just wanted to be left alone..

Even though he was hurt, Hinata tried to convince himself that maybe it was just some elaborate prank. Like a welcome party. So, after a whole day of being ignored by his friends in class, stared at by everyone else, and hiding in the bathrooms during break, he was going to try and watch the volleyball practice.

Limping out of the classroom, too slow to catch up to anyone, he limped to the gym. The doors were shut tight when he arrived, and so he climbed up to the door, knocking on it hopefully. After a few moments, the door slid open to reveal Ennoshita and Tanaka.

"Hey guys," Hinata said, thankful it wasn't Kageyama or Tsukishima,"Is there practice today? I really was wanting to watch-"

"This is a closed practice," Tanaka interrupted,"You can't come in." Ennoshita nodded in return, his gentle features suddenly seeming meaner. Hinata frowned, feeling more nerves and confusion.

"B-but I was a part of the team!" He exclaimed, and Tanaka then said,"Yeah, _was._ " Hinata felt the despair clawing at his heart again. But he wasn't about to just leave, after everything that happened today, he was more than suspicious.

Slowly, he asked,"Can I talk to coach about it?" Ennoshita looked in the door, as if checking, but Hinata felt like he looked too fast to get an actual answer. "Please? I promise I won't even talk-" 

"No," Ennoshita firmly said,"You need to leave, coach said so. You're not on the volleyball team anymore Hinata, go away."

"If you're just going to be useless you may as well go home," Tanaka snapped, and Ennoshita somehow agreed. Nodding, he turned back to Hinata and said,"Bye."

They slid the door closed, leaving Hinata standing there. He stared at the door for a long while. He was so lost, lost and confused. This.. Really wasn't a joke. They blamed him, and maybe they were right.. But why were they acting so selfish about fame all of a sudden?! 

Hinata sniffed, wiping his teary eyes before limping over to the outside of the school gate. He sat against the wall, pulling out his phone. He'd already told his mother that he'd be staying the whole practice.. But he didn't want to stay here any long.

He texted her, asking for her to come pick her up in a vague text, much emptier and with much less exclamation points than he would normally use. He put his phone away after that, and felt something wet on his nose.

Looking up at the sky, it was suddenly pouring rain. The clouds had been overcast all day, and it seemed that they were finally releasing all their sadness. They seemed to match Hinata's mood. He hated this feeling, feeling so in despair. But for some reason, he continued to just stare up at the sky, letting the rain soak him.

It was a half-hour later when his mother arrived, driving up and helping Hinata pull himself into the car. He knew he was soaking the car completely, anywhere he touched turning the fuzzy seats a darker color. He simply stared at the floor, saying nothing, until his mother noticed. She turned her brown eyes to him, for a moment, and softly asked,"What happened?"

"They didn't let me inside.." Hinata softly admitted,"They won't even talk to me, people are staring at me! I don't understand, mom, what did I do wrong?" His teary eyes turned up to her, desperately searching for an answer.

His mother looked nervous, and then softly said,"Maybe they just don't know how to react to your injury? Maybe they just need a few days to think about it, they're probably nervous. Just give them a little bit, Shouyou, everything will be okay."

Hinata knew there was so much more that he could argue, but he honestly didn't have the energy anymore. He looked at his mom, before nodding softly and whispering,"Yeah.. You're probably right.."

A small ball of hope in his chest hit him, and he found himself once again, trying to convince himself that it all was a big misunderstanding. Maybe it was just a huge prank, or maybe they all just felt really guilty. He wanted to hope, wanted to believe that was the case. That everything was going to go back to normal.

But somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that it was all just empty words.

One Month Later

It wasn't getting any better..

If anything it was worse.

Hinata had never felt so alienated in his entire life. He tried to speak to the team, but none of them would talk to him. He tried to get into the practices but was denied, never seeing coach and eventually giving up after three weeks. He was stared at so often he felt like he would turn t0 stone under his nerves. It was bringing up anxiety issues he'd never had before. He was losing weight, losing sleep. He hated it.

If it was anything, it was the overload of loneliness he now found himself in. Nobody to talk to, ignored except when someone wanted to spread rumors. It was driving him insane, he didn't understand why this was happening to him. Why? What did he ever do to deserve something like this?

Hinata was getting desperate, desperate for any interaction, even a small one. He looked at Kageyama every day, longong, desperate. He'd finally reached the point of no return. He needed to tell Kageyama the truth, he was already planning too. Maybe it would make Kageyama wake up and treat him like a normal human again.

If only he could have seen the fallout before it happened.

It was the end of the day, people filing away to their clubs. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi had left early to go set up, as it was their turn. Kageyama stood up to leave, Hinata took his chance. Reaching out, he grabbed Kageyama's sleeve and yanked him back.

"Kageyama! I need to tell you something!" He exclaimed, pulling back hard as Kageyama tried to yank his arm away. "Let me go!" He snapped back.

Hinata, thankful to no need his crutch anymore, grabbed with both hands. "Please, Toboi!" He seriously declared," _Please!_ Listen to me just this once! If you still don't want to talk to me then fine, but let me get this out!"

Kageyama struggled for a few moments, before realizing that Hinata wasn't going to let up. He relaxed his muscle, and allowed the weaker teen to lead him outside. Hinata took him to the cherry tree in the courtyard. It was away from prying eyes, and it was all he could think of.

"What is it?" Kageyama sneered,"I have to go to practice!"

Hinata stared at Kageyama for a long moment, taking in all his features. That soft black hair, gentle yet angled face, his dark eyes. He blushed, feeling himself blush. "Kageyama.. I know you hate me right now.. I know you may really not like me.. But- But I want you to know how much I.. I like you…" He stuttered out.

Kageyama seemed unimpressed. "That's it? You dragged me out here for 'friendship?" He growled,"What a waste of time." He turned to leave, and Hinata felt violent disparity flow through him faster than a flood.

"NO! That's not what I meant, Kageyama-kun! Toboi! I LOVE YOU!" Hinata yelled out loud, grabbing Hinata's waist. Kageyama froze in his hold, not moving as the smaller male clutched to him.

"You.. You _what?_ " Kageyama hissed.

Hinata shuddered, but still remained strong. "I.. I was going to tell you after the game against Shiratorizawa, but I didn't get the chance!" He admitted,"I.. I've loved you ever since that game in middle school, you were just so strong and I.. I just knew that I'd fallen for you. Please.. Just-"

Suddenly, there was a hand in his face as it threw him to the ground. Hinata gasped as he landed, losing all the air in his chest. He looked up to see the object of his affection backing away. "Get away from me, you fucking homo!" He yelled.

Hinata felt panic increase in his body, as he then held out his hands and tried to smother the rising anger. "Kageyama, I've only ever been in love with you, please-!" He tried to explained, but then Kageyama glared even darker.

"So you're a stalker too?!" He snarled.

"N-no-" Hinata tried to stutter.

"You're fucking disgusting!" Kageyama yelled,"Not only did you kill our chances of ever being famous players, you're a stalking homo cripple! You only joined volleyball for the boys, huh?! You're the most nasty person I've ever known! I hate you!"

Hinata's eyes felt tears tumble down his eyes, as he whispered,"T-that's not true!"

Kageyama sneered, asking,"Isn't it? You're sad and disgusting! Nobody likes you Hinata, you're a freak of nature, you ruin everything! I would never love someone like you! Why don't you just die and do the world a favor?!"

Kageyama turned and stormed away, leaving Hinata in a morose, sobbing state. He brought his knees to his chest, sobbing violently. He felt so horrible. He had no friends, he had nothing going for him, and his last hope rejected him.

It couldn't get any worse than this.

Unfortunately, it seemed that it could.

When Hinata went to his shoe locker a few days later, he opened his locker and a piece of paper fell out. He frowned, kneeling through the pain and picking it up. He unfolded it, and felt his heart clench up with pain as he read the simple word written on it.

' _Faggot'_

Hinata's eyes widened, shoving down the paper and then switching his shoes quickly. He felt panic crawling up in his system. People were staring again, whispering. But this time some were glaring, and others were laughing.

Kageyama told.. He told everyone.

Hinata stumbled quickly to his desk, and sat down with his eyes facing the desk. Almost instantly, some of the taller boys started to crowd him. Hinata tensed up violently, as they began throwing expletives.

"Hey gay boy," One sneered,"Hows your day today, suck any dicks at the glory hole last night?"

Hinata didn't reply, he was surrounded. Instead, the orangette turned his eyes towards the clock, trying to see how long it would be till the bell rang. But then one of the guys closest to him took it the wrong way. He grabbed Hinata by his collar, lifting him up to his much taller height. "What the fuck are you doing?! Trying to check us out!?" He snapped

The collar of his shirt was constricting Hinata, as he gasped out,"No! No! I wasn't!" The bully then let go, making Hinata land on his injured leg and cry out in pain.

"I don't believe you," One sneered,"Watch your back, fag." Hinata hunched over in his chair again, thanking God once again for the bell. The teacher walked in, and the lesson continued. But Hinata was terrified.

He knew they'd come after him during breaks, he was horrified. So, when the bell finally rang, Hinata stumbled to the front of the desk as quickly as possible. "Ah- Ah- Um.." He stuttered out,"Sensei, I was wondering if you could explain this again to me? I don't understand it.."

"Oh? Of course, Hinata," The teacher said, seeming thankful that Hinata was actually wanting to learn, while Hinata was just thankful the bullies couldn't get to him. But it wouldn't stop them forever.. Hinata knew that. But he could stall them for as long as possible.

It felt like that was all he could do..

Two Months Later

Everyone has a breaking point.

Hinata finally reached his after two months of torture.

The harassing and bullying got worse and worse, but Hinata never had enough evidence to tell a teacher. But as that thought pulled itself farther into his head, he also realized that he couldn't stop it from getting worse.

It started with more notes and insults. Then it got physical. Hinata had to start checking his shoes for tacks or nails every time he went to change his shoes, and it was almost always. He only fell for it twice, thank god.

People would throw things at him during class, or sometimes food if they could. The bathroom was no longer a safe place, people would chase after him, and he couldn't run fast anymore.. Or at all.

He had found himself having to leave school as fast as possible to be lost in the crowd, and that the only safe places he had was with a teacher or at his parent's class. But now that he'd been spending so much time with the teachers, his grades had been getting better, now that he understood things, but students started spreading rumors that he was having sex for the teachers. It was horrible.

Hinata was losing even more sleep thanks to his new anxiety issues, the constant stress of trying to become invisible so nobody hurt him, and the ever present loneliness. But he knew they still had several months of school left, but he thought he could make it..

He was wrong..

It was the end of the day, and as the bell chimed, the sensei said,"Hinata, please stay after class"

Hinata slowly walked over to the desk, ignoring someone's snide,"Oh, blowob time for the gay boy?" He kept his hunched, small position as he walked over to the sensei, and stood in front of the desk, looking at him. He had time, unfortunately his mother was going to be an hour late.

The teacher looked at him with a mix of pity and worry, before he cleared his throat, and declared,"I just wanted to congratulate you and pulling up your grades so fast. You've gotten much better in just the span of three months. Your exam scores were one of the highest in the class."

"Thank you sensei," Hinata softly answered, wondering what else the teacher could possibly be referring to. He didn't try to stop the hint of pride that filled his empty self-esteem at the compliment.

The teacher went silent again, before then he quickly declared,"I.. I know of several schools who have seen your recent scores and are interested in a scholar such as yourself. Many of them have honors program and test students for higher education to prepare them. And I was sure.. With everything recently, you'd probably want to have the options."

He reached into his dresser, pulling out a paper. "This is the list of schools that are interested, and a few others I found from other students who transferred," He explained,"You'll get letters in a few days, but.. I'm sure that you would like to have them sooner."

Hinata felt a little bit better, as he looked at the paper. He read their locations quickly, feeling curious. Tokyo, Gifu, Hiroshima, Hyogo, Kochi. Shiga, Miyazaki.. "They're all.. So far away from here.." He quietly mentioned.

"Yes, they really are," The teacher said,"And though I think that I am glad to finally have a first year interested in their education, I'd be much happier knowing you were safe and happy, even if that is all across Japan."

Hinata felt his mouth twitch, a tiny smile coming on his face. He knew his sensei meant well, and it made him feel so much better. "Thank you, sensei, I'll be sure to look into it," He said happily. "Have a good day"

He left the room after pushing his paper in his bag. He walked down the empty hall, and for a moment he felt like he may actually have a nice end to his day. He still had to wait for his mom, but he could at least visit the lab and check out these schools-

But suddenly, something slammed into him. Then, he was grabbed, and violently dragged on the ground for at least a minute during his dizzy spell. The they pushed him backwards. Hinata cried out, stumbling backwards and into a janitor's closet. He crashed into the floor, supplies crashing on him.

Hinata let out a whimper of pain, and quickly snapped open his eyes, trying to get out. In front of him, he saw a group of large, angry looking third years. He started the breathe out violently, on the edge of a panic attack.

"Well well, the little prostitute doesn't have his teacher fuck to protect him now!" The biggest snapped.

Hinata gasped for breath, trying to stand up. But the one on the side grabbed his hair and threw him down again. "Don't try and run, fag. We have to make sure you get what you deserve after trying to avoid us for so long," He sneered, before giving a questioning noise. "But what would be best?" He asked.

"Well, I mean he's gay. Why don't we make him suck us off? I'm sure he wouldn't mind at all," The third decided.

The one who seemed to be the leader then smirked, seeing Hinata attempt to scramble away. He threw Hinata's leg down, before grabbing his leg. He then gasped. "Oh! You really are a cripple! Need this shit to walk, huh?" He snarled.

Hinata whimpered, hearing the sound of a knife opening. He cried out as the knife dug in his leg, accidentally and purposefully as he shredded up Hinata's brace, throwing the metal parts away.

"There, now you can't get away," the tallest snarled, grabbing Hinata's shirt. He pulled the orangette forward, and Hinata began to panic again.

"HELP ME! HELP-" A fist slammed into Hinata's face, cutting off his tirade. The older growled as Hinata screamed out, desperate for help. The man then twisted his arm, and Hinata felt the snap as it happened. He screamed even louder from pain.

"Shut the fuck up, you little homo!" They yelled, kicking him and stomping on him. Hinata could only curl up and desperately try to block his screams, even when they stomped on his injured leg.

Eventually they let up, and Hinata desperately scrambled. They laughed, as if it was funny, as he tried to escape only to fall as his leg couldn't support him. Hinata was in fight or flight mode though, and began to crawl towards the stairs he best he could with a broken limb and another crippled one. "P-please s-someone.." He croaked.

Once he got to the edge of the stairs, they finally decided to end the 'punishment'. "This is what you get! You little faggot!" The last one brought his foot up, and then kicked Hinata's side. The orangette had no choice as he tumbled down the stairs, crashing on the ground and not even attempting to get up.

The third years walked by, and one of them declared,"I hope you learned your lesson." Then, they walked away. Hinata didn't feel any energy within him, he didn't try to move. He wanted to just fade away and die..

But then there were footsteps, and someone let out a shaky gasp. They ran over, and whispered,"Oh.. Hinata-kun.."

 _Yamaguchi..?_ Hinata weakly wondered, before feeling a surge of anger. He just wanted to die, couldn't everyone just let him die? Isn't that what they.. What Kageyama wanted?

The freckled boy watched Hinata open his eyes weakly. The boy was covered in bruises and blood, he had a black eye, and his pant leg was shredded, his shoe missing as well as his brace. His hair was disheveled and there were bags under his eyes, and his eyes.. They were void of all emotion, and staring straight ahead, not at him..

Hinata had always been a beacon of light to the team, to a lot of people. But seeing him like this, Yamaguchi could see that his sunshine was fading. Hinata had given up.. Yamaguchi also knew there was nobody to blame but the team, they started this all..

"Oh Hinata, I'm so sorry.." Yamaguchi whispered,"I wanted to help you this whole time.. But I was afraid.. Everyone on the team has gotten so selfish.. Daichi, Suga, and Asahi are never at practice, they're always out getting ready for college.. I don't think they knew what was going on.. Tsukishima threatened me if I tried to.. I'm really sorry.."

He reached down, pulling back at Hinata's violent flinch. He then moved forward again, pulling Hinata into a sitting position, before helping him stand. He then whispered,"I'll would take you to the nurse, but she left.. I'll take you to your house, I'm sure you have a first aid kit there."

They limped down the way, Yamaguchi supporting what little weight Hinata had left. It took longer than Hinata would have liked, though his arm was turning purple it was numb, though Yamaguchi hadn't noticed it. All the other wounds were superficial. Maybe Hinata would have been thankful for the company a few months ago, but he'd broken.

Once they got into the house, Hinata was thankful that none of his family was there. Yamaguchi then looked around for a moment, moving Hinata to the couch and saying,"I'll be right back, I'm going to find some stuff to clean and fix everything."

Hinata watched Yamaguchi go, before grabbing the edge of the couch and forcing himself up. Somehow, with only one leg and arm, he managed to get himself into the bathroom. He wasn't looking for the first aid kid, he didn't want that.

He dug into the cabinet. He pulled out as many pill bottles as he could. Pain killers, sleeping pills, anything. He uncapped them, feeling a different kind of need crawling up in him. He tipped one bottle back like a shot, swallowing the pills dry. He kept going until all the bottles were gone, leaning on the counter.

He felt the dizzy spell coming on, as if he was going to go to sleep. However, just as it reached him, Yamaguchi had walked towards the room. "Hey Hinata, I found the-" He then gasped, yelling,"HINATA! NO!"

Hinata turned to look at him, before he fell backwards. He craved that sweet release, uncaring of how Yamaguchi's echoey voice begged him to not faint, and was unconscious before he hit the floor.

Hinata's mother had gotten a call from the hospital while at work. Her son had tried to kill himself. She dropped everything, telling her boss what had happened before driving as fast as she could to the hospital.

In the waiting room, there was one of the kids from Hinata's team. He saw her, recognizing her and Natsu as Hinata's family, as he broke into tears. "I-I'm so sorry! I didn't know that he was going to do it! I just left to find a first aid kit!" He sobbed out.

"What was the first aid kit for..?" Hinata's mother whispered, thankful Natsu was asleep. Yamaguchi sniffed softly, knowing he couldn't hide it. He brokenly admitted what had been happening at school, and what he knew about what led to this situation. It took several hours for him to explain, with how many times he started crying.

The woman sniffed shakily, and then went over to him, softly saying,"You did all you could do, I understand why you were afraid. Thank you for saving Shouyou.."

Yamaguchi continued to sob, as a doctor walked out and softly asked,"Misaki Hinata? Your son is going to live. But he will be on suicide watch, and he desperately needs to regain weight and sleep-"

"C-can I see him? Please," Misaki quickly added. The doctor looked up at her and the other two, and realized that they needed to see him before he listed anything else. They wouldn't focus then. The doctor nodded, leading them to Hinata's room.

In the room, Hinata's leg was wrapped in bandages and a new brace. There were a couple stitches, his left arm was in a sling. There was gauze on his forehead, his right cheek, and bandages all over his chest.

Natsu, who had woken up, softly whispered,"Nii-chan..?" She then squirmed from from Misaki's arms, and stood by Hinata's right hand, reaching out to hold it.

Yamaguchi sniffed softly, while Misaki went to Hinata's left side, wiping her eyes. Suddenly, Hinata shifted, and slowly began to open his eyes. He blinked in confusion, before depression overtook his features as he saw he was alive.

Turning to the side, Hinata finally noticed them. "M-mom..?" He softly whispered, as his mom finally broke out in true tears. "Oh Shouyou.." She whispered in pain, kneeling down so her head rested on his shoulder, he flinched at it, but then burst into tears himself.

"I.. I can't take it anymore mom.. I so tired.. I don't want to live anymore.. I tried to so hard t-to.. But.. I c-can't.. I'm s-so sorry.." He stuttered out, his voice shaky and cracking, from the screaming earlier.

Misaki whimpered at those words, as she knelt down. "It's okay, Shou, everything will be okay.. I promise.." She whispered,"Mother is here, no one will ever hurt you ever again, I won't let them.."

"No.. It always gets worse.. Never better.." Hinata whispered back, leaning his head to the side as his eyes closed. He couldn't seem to stay awake any longer, but it didn't faze Misaki. She continued to stroke his cheek and hair, feeling terrible guilt for not catching this sooner.

She sighed, shaking her head. "I'm not going to let this happen anymore.. I'm not sure how far those rumors and bullies spread it.. But I'm not sending Hinata back to that school," She whispered,"He doesn't deserve to hurt like that, he never deserved to hurt like that.."

"He never did," Yamaguchi softly agreed,"It wasn't his fault" Misaki nodded, stroking her son's hand for a moment. In that moment, the single mother made a decision. There was nobody to protest her, and she knew that nobody would have anyways, because they would have known that was Hinata's only hope.

The only hope to bring his sunshine back.

Staring down at her poor child, she firmly declared,"The Hinata family is leaving Miyagi… And we are never coming back."


	2. Chapter 2

It didn't take long for Misaki to start what she had declared. A day after Shouyou was admitted to the hospital, she went to her job to send in a request to transfer. Her boss had given her time off to be with Shouyou, but she wanted them to be away as soon as possible.

In her son's bag, she found the slightly crumpled paper from his teacher, but this was no news to her. She'd gotten the letter in the mail just earlier. She was very proud of Shouyou, but it also made her feel even sadder.

Hinata was doing so well in school now, he could have a very good future, but he had been so hurt recently that he didn't even care about it. She didn't want him to have to feel that way, she wanted him to be happy and excited for his future, ready for every day.

So, she left before he woke up again, and went to her job. Misaki worked as a book and manga editor, it was often a hard job but it was very well-paying. The woman walked through the building until she got to the boss' office.

The few people in his office turned to look at her. "Ah, Hinata-san," He said in surprised,"What brings you back here, is your son okay?"

Misaki tensed up softly, and then morosely whispered,"No, no he isn't. I'm not sure he'll ever be okay again, with how those other kids treated him.. Just because he's a little different.. But those monsters destroyed him. He just lies down and stares, he won't let anyone touch him, the doctor tells me he's going through what she calls Selective Mutism.. If I have figured it out sooner, maybe then-"

The man looked at her with worry, before he softly said,"Don't look into the past Hinata-San, your son needs you _now._ Don't blame yourself for something you didn't even know about."

"But I _should_ have known," Misaki pushed,"I'm his mother.."

The boss looked at his worker sadly, and stood up. "Misaki," He began seriously,"You could not have known what was happening. I've met your son before, I believe that he was afraid to, or he didn't want to but you. Don't blame yourself, nobody could have known it would go this far."

"Y-yeah.. You're right," She admitted, a small smile coming on her face. "I just need to make sure I'm here for him now, and help him through this," She said, before moving closer. "And that's actually why I'm here."

She walked up to his desk, placing the paper down along with the letter about his exam scores. The three suited men looked at it, while she said,"I'm sorry sir, but I think the only way I could keep Hinata safe is by moving out of Miyagi with him and my daughter. I'm requesting a transfer to another one of our branches. Do you know if any of these place have positions open?"

The boss looked down at the paper, and hummed. "Well.. Several of these places have some branches of our company, but the real question is which place would be best for Shouyou-kun?" He honestly asked.

A man with dirty blonde hair then said,"If I may, Isaka-san, I believe that I have family down in Kochi. The schools down there are very nice, and, if I may suggest, there is a nice town behind some mountains right on a coast. It's peaceful, and smaller than Karasuno. Think of it as sort of a mix of a sea town and a farming town. My family also told me there are many nice houses up for sale. And I happen to know there are quite a few psychologists and therapist places you could take him. Those may be able to help."

Misaki smiled, looking up at the man. "Peaceful is just what we need, Asahina-san. Thank you very much," She gratefully declared, then turned back to Isaka. "I'll be transferring to Kochi, then," She declared.

Soon, the request was finished and accepted. Misaki was thankful, now she could get her son away from the pain. Hopefully, she would be able to begin recovery for him soon. One could only hope.

* * *

5 Days Later

* * *

It was a long drive to the Kochi, they drove down to the Hyogo Prefecture, and then took the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway across the ocean to the Tokushima prefecture, and then drove to the Koshi Prefecture. She had already seen some houses, and thought she saw the one both Shouyou and Natsu would like. She wanted to have them check it out together.

With Yamaguchi in tow, the family drove towards their new home. The car was a bundle of nerves and tension. Hinata's pale, exhausted body was curled tightly in the corner, he stared out the window silently. Yamaguchi sat next to him, twisting his hands nervously and periodically glancing over at the shorter.

Natsu didn't seem to notice the tense atmosphere, playing on her Nintendo DS and babbling excitedly about how she couldn't wait to move to her new home and see the pretty beaches and flowers and their new house and how she was going to draw lots and lots of pictures and-

Finally, they arrived in the town. It was very beautiful, with most of the buildings being a mix of modern houses, but still having traditional touches such as engawa paired with shoji and fusama doors. The town was built into the mountains, and overseeing the ocean. The coast was right in front of the small town, and the beach seemed mostly empty at the moment, though it was school and work time so that wasn't surprising. Near the end of the mountains was a station, which Misaki would take to get to work every day.

They drove near what would be their house. It was bigger than their last home, up some stairs with a large wooden fence and gate around the front yard, the mailbox connected so any mail dropped in it will be on the other side of the gate by the front door. The house itself was two stories tall, though the bottom of the house was larger and elevated off the ground. There was dark wood paneling around the doors, windows, and outlining the corners of the house. The roof was made of traditional roofing tiles, covering the first floor and second floor.

The front door was a sliding door, and opened up to the genkan, then leading to the foyer. If you were to walk straight into the foyer, you'd come across the stairs and the small area behind that. The walls were the same cream color, outlined with the dark wood paneling. The floors were dark oak and the wall against and leading up to the second story was dark oak.

On the left of the foyer, from front to back, was a sliding doors that led to the front yard. In the front yard there was some grass and bushes, as well as some smooth stone paths. Across from the front yard's sliding doors, with about two feet of space in between, was the sliding doors that opened up the living room, which had soft cream colors and tatami mats, and behind that was the kitchen, all connected by sliding doors and having sliding doors on the right side of the rooms that led to the foyer again.

On the right side of the foyer was a hallway that led to the last of the rooms downstairs, and at the very end of the hallway was the back door that led out of the house. On the left side of the hallway was a laundry room, and inside of the laundry room was a door that led to the downstairs bathroom. On the right side of the hallway was two other rooms, both empty. One seemed bigger than the other, obviously made for an office. The room behind it looked like it was made for storage, despite the many sliding storage areas in the house.

Misaki smiled as she looked around. "Yes, I think this place will do nicely," She said to the real estate man,"Why don't you kids explore upstairs while I work out a price?"

Natsu giggled excitedly, turning and running up the steps. "I'm going to choose my room _fiiiiirst!_ " She exclaimed loudly, with much more energy than the other two had.

Hinata hadn't really been saying much of anything. The teenager was staring down at the floor, having jumped at Natsu's voice before calming down again. His tired, empty chocolate eyes stared while his unbroken arm was clenched into a tight first, blood seeping from the wounds his nails made.

Yamaguchi felt guilt swell his system again, but he pushed it back. Reaching out and ignoring the flinch, he uncurled Hinata's hand, seeing the dried blood in his nails. Yamaguchi hated these new self injurious habits Hinata seemed to have grown. This was almost as bad as that time they found him slicing at his wrist with a scalpel someone left behind. It didn't seem to bother Hinata at all, he just continued to stare with those dull, empty eyes...

Forcing a shaky smile on his face, he then said,"It's a nice house, isn't it?"

The orangette's chocolate brown eyes turned to look at him, filled with suspicion and distrust, his hand clutching to his shirt tightly. It was so strange to see the always open and innocent Hinata turn into something so closed off and depressed.

Hinata didn't really respond to his question verbally, he simply nodded to Yamaguchi's question. It was so awkward.. and Yamaguchi frowned again. "U-um…" He began slowly,"Wanna go upstairs and look at the rooms?"

Hinata shrugged at that, and Yamaguchi frowned again. He doubted he was going to get a real answer from the orangette, but it was still better than when he first woke up. After his initial breakdown, he tended to stay silent and stare out the window. When he first saw Yamaguchi while in the hospital, he completely shut down, and for several days he remained that way. It made Yamaguchi feel completely horrible, but at least he didn't do that anymore.. Even though the boy completely had the right to, after what they did..

"Let's go look at the rooms," Yamaguchi softly decided, reaching out to take Hinata's arm. Hinata jumped at it, before violently jerking his arm out of Yamaguchi's hold.

He then began limping the best he could up the stairs with his brace. He huffed out a few difficult breaths, and Yamaguchi turned to look back at him nervously. "Um.. We don't have to go upstairs if you don't want to.." He reached out to try and help the orangette, but Hinata leaned back as to avoid his arm.

Hinata shook his head, releasing his hand from the death grip on his stomach, and pressing it against the dark oak wall. He then shakily continued walking up the stairs. Yamaguchi wondered whether Hinata was just being stubborn or if Yamaguchi touching his hand was simply too much contact in one day.

Upstairs was pretty much the same as downstairs. The cream walls with dark oak outlines. There was a hallway, and the back of hallway (which was the back of the house) had a set of sliding doors that obviously led to the master bedroom. On the other side of the hallway, which faced the front of the house, had two sliding doors on each end of the hallway. These rooms were obviously smaller, though there was a nice balcony made from oak wood that oversaw the whole town below them on the mountain, as well as the ocean.

Natsu was chattering excitedly about where she was going to put her stuff in her new room, the one at the end of the hallway. So the two teenage boys simply wandered into the room closer to the stairs.

It was a nice size, for one kid. Hinata liked it though, It was small, he liked small spaces. It was harder for people to get to him. There had been several times in the past two months where his small stature gave him the ability to squeeze into places others couldn't, keeping him safe. Because of that, he didn't care about being small anymore. Small was safe.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Misaki decided that she was going to sign for the house. She did all the local paperwork, thankful that the real estate agent told them they could move in straight away.

Once the papers were signed, the children had come downstairs. The people who followed them in the moving van also came into the house. They were strong, burly men who had the strength to lift what they needed help with. Misaki thought this would be helpful, but she had forgotten about something..

The second Hinata saw them, his empathetic, silent disposition changed. His eyes widened out of proportion, his chest heaving in and out, and his one arm went to clutch tightly at his hand. He turned, trying to run but his brace wouldn't allow it. He tripped and fell on the floor.

But instead of trying to get up again, Hinata simply seemed to give into whatever flashback he was seeing. He curled up into a tight ball, his free hand and cast wrapping around his sensitive stomach, as he released choked sobs.

She suddenly realized what was happening, and said,"Yamaguchi, please take him outside, don't let him see them anymore!"

The panicking boy jumped, before grabbing Hinata's shoulders and trying to help him up. Hinata's breathing began to increase violently, but Yamaguchi didn't let go this time. He pulled Hinata towards the back door as fast as he could. Once they were outside, sitting on the porch, he softly said,"Shouyou, they're gone, it's okay.."

Hinata's eyes remained tightly shut for a few moments, his breathing slowly returning to normal. His frightened brown eyes opened up, and stared at the scenery around them. The backyard was big, with a medium sized koi pond that had a cherry blossom tree next to it. It had many other trees and bushes of different colors. The only sound outside was the gentle chirping of the birds and cicadas.

Hinata finally calmed down enough, and slid out of his fetal position. He examined the sky, with red rimmed eyes, through the overgrown orange bangs in his face. The sky was pretty, it helped him calm down.

Yamaguchi felt relief flow through him, he was worried Hinata would go back into the empty shell had become the first few days at the hospital. He looked the orangette up and down, only to jump as Hinata's eyes had turned to him. Barely visible underneath his fringe.

"Ah, Shouyou-Kun, can I fix your hair?" Yamaguchi asked hopefully. He knew that there was no way in hell Hinata would allow him to come anywhere near him with scissors, but maybe he could at least put it up. Maybe.. Maybe Hinata would trust him a little more then.

Hinata didn't say anything, not that Yamaguchi was expecting anything. Slowly, he nodded, but didn't move, his eyes staying on Yamaguchi's form.

The nervous teenager forced a smile on his face once more, before crawling over, and shakily running his hands through Hinata's messy hair. Hinata flinched, but it wasn't as bad as before. Yamaguchi felt hope. Could Hinata finally be beginning to trust him once more?

Yamaguchi decided to keep these thought to himself, not wanting to get his hopes up too soon. After all, Hinata still had a lot to be mad at.

Instead, he focused on running his hands through Hinata's surprisingly soft hair. Bringing it together to create a ponytail. It wasn't long enough to go very far, and the hair proofed out slightly, but is still looked nice. Yamaguchi smiled, the freckles on his cheeks raising. "There we go," He softly declared,"All done."

Hinata waited until he scooted away before reaching out and feeling the ponytail, it was.. Nice? He didn't mind it, he liked it actually. It made him feel better, he didn't know why though.. Maybe it was just a change, a good one.

Tapping it a few more times, Hinata lowered his hand and nodded. Looking back at the grass, he heard a sad sigh. The orangette looked over, and saw Yamaguchi. He had his head in his hands and he looked like he was shaking. Hinata felt confusion, and fear, as he slowly reached out and touch the teen.

Yamaguchi jumped suddenly, and looked up at him with tearful eyes. "I.. I'm just.. So sorry Hinata," He stuttered out, gasping for breaths through his sobs,"I hate this.. I could have helped so much sooner but I didn't.. Why didn't I stop it, why didn't I stop it?!"

Hinata watched him hunch back over and sob, A while ago, Hinata would have yelled some determined speech and bounced off the walls, but he felt nothing like that Hinata anymore. Plus, he kind of agreed. It was sort of Yamaguchi's fault, but Hinata definitely didn't blame him completely. At least Yamaguchi tried to help him.

Even though Hinata still wished everyone would have let him die, he didn't want the only person who actually cared to feel pain.

Instead of a hug, or kind words, Hinata simply scooted closer, and let himself lean against Yamaguchi. The young teen gasp again, sitting up a bit as Hinata remained on his shoulder. He could feel Hinata's tense body, he knew Hinata wasn't exactly fond of touch anymore. Yamaguchi pondered this behavior for a moment, before his eyes widened with realization.

Hinata was trying to make him feel better.

As amazing as it was to know that Hinata still cared enough about him to want to make him happy. But he didn't want Hinata to scare himself. He slowly used his hand to push the orangette up straight. "You don't have to touch me if you don't want to.." Yamaguchi whispered,"It's okay, I understand."

There is was again, that stubborn light in those dead brown eyes. He took a deep, nervous breath before he reached his good hand out, squeezing Yamaguchi's hand in his own, and looking away quickly.

Yamaguchi smiled slightly, wiping the treacherous tears from his eyes before looking up at the sky with Hinata. It was calming, the wind flowing around them, and the wind chime now on the rafters ringing softly. Their hands remained squeezed together, both seeking the contact they feared asking for. In fear of breaking the fragile trust that was growing between them, neither spoke.

Instead, the broken soul and the completely shattered soul just stayed as close as their fears allowed them

And wondered about what could have been.


	3. Chapter 3

The next few days were tense.

Yamaguchi knew it would be, getting away from Karasuno wouldn't instantly make everything better. He just wished that Hinata would act a little different than he did in the hospital. In the sterile prison, he had been pretty much catatonic, wouldn't talk, wouldn't even try to get up. It was the exact opposite of the innocent, excitable Hinata who couldn't sit still for two seconds, and Yamaguchi wasn't sure what he could do about it.

Now, he was pretty much the same, he was lethargic until someone asked him to move around. It was a struggle every morning, just to get Hinata to wake up. It was even harder to get him to eat, or even do anything else. It was easy to tell from his hollow cheeks, and the way that his clothes hung off his skinny form that he wasn't getting any better. As painful as it was to realize, Yamaguchi could tell that Hinata was perfectly fine with fading away and dying.

But Yamaguchi wasn't.

It wasn't what Hinata deserved. He deserved to be happy, to bloom and shine like the sunflower he was, it killed Yamaguchi to see him like this. When he saw just how little his friend was healing, he knew he had to do something about it, but he didn't have much time. He eventually would have to go back to school, he couldn't stay forever.

A frown crossed his lips at the thought. He didn't want to go, people at school had seen him helping Hinata, and now everyone probably knew. He could only imagine what might happen when he went back…

That wasn't the only thing that worried him, though, he was also afraid for his broken friend. If he left, Hinata might retreat back into himself and stop trying. His mom could only be around so much, and she had to work and look after Natsu. And what about going back to school? Could Hinata handle that alone?

Fearful thoughts entering his mind, he looked over at his friend. Hinata was in a restless sleep, eyes twitching every now and then. In his pajamas, the sleeves gave way to show the scars of self inflicted injuries on his wrists. Yamaguchi released a sad sigh, looking down at his own lap, as he thought long and hard.

Then, he made up his mind.

The next morning, Yamaguchi was folding his clothes and other items, zipping it all up in a suitcase. Once everything was inside, he flipped the top over it, and zipped it closed. He turned his head towards the other occupant of the room, whose sad brown eyes were staring at him, filled with betrayal and fear. Hinata thinks I'm abandoning him like everyone else..

Ignoring the pain in his heart, the teen moved to sit down next to Hinata, making sure they were not touching. "Hey.." He whispered, keeping his voice as gentle as possible. "I'll be back, it's only a week or two."

Hinata didn't respond, but Yamaguchi wasn't expecting him to. He hadn't spoken in a long time. The teen merely stared at him for a long moment, before burying his head against his knees once more. The brunette sighed, climbing back onto his feet. Just as he began to walk towards his suitcase again, Hinata shot his hand out, grabbing Yamaguchi's wrist tightly.

The brunette froze, turning just in time to catch the orangette that flung against him. He squeaked in surprise, stumbling back as Hinata's arms wrapped tightly around his body, burying his face against Yamaguchi's shoulders. The brunette was shocked, and unsure of what to do. Hinata didn't even want to brush against others anymore, to suddenly be hugged by the ginger left him confused and.. Happy.

Hinata trusted him.

Slowly, Yamaguchi wrapped his arms around the traumatized boy, resting his nose in those messy orange locks. _I'll protect you, I'll make you happy again..._ He declared. _Those bastards will regret ever hurting you, Shouyou._

The sight of the school again was almost enough to turn him around already. Just remembering the torment his friend went through in those halls made him angry. But he couldn't lose it yet. He just had to act like everything was alright until his apartment lease was ended, and then he could go back to Hinata.

From day one, Yamaguchi ignored everyone who had to do with the volleyball team. It was easy to avoid the third years, they were still applying to university anyways. The second years he never really saw, but avoiding the other first years was the hardest of all.

Yachi seemed to constantly try and approach him, her dark eyes looking at the ground and wringing her hands together. Yamaguchi wasn't sure what she wanted to ask, but he wasn't about to find out. Kageyama often had his steel eyes trained on him, and Enoshita kept trying to ask if he was okay.

 _I'm not, and neither is Shouyou because of YOU GUYS!_ He wanted to scream, but he kept his mouth shut. He quelled his anger, and kept going through the motions. They weren't the problem, they were easy to avoid. Tsukishima was the biggest problem.

The day he returned, Tsukishima was at his desk faster than a falcon on an unsuspecting rodent. "Where were you?" He demanded,"You were almost gone for two weeks and didn't say anything. You never answered my calls."

Yamaguchi quickly released a chuckle and replied,"Oh.. Well I didn't have my phone." That was a total lie. He blocked Tsukishima on everything while Hinata was still in the hospital, as well as the rest of the team.

Tsukishima seemed suspicious of his answer, narrowing his carmel eyes. "Okay.." He muttered,"Well, where were you?"

The soft bell rang above them, and Yamaguchi quickly jumped up. "Sorry, I have to go see the counselor about my missing work, can't talk right now!" He exclaimed, taking off down the hall.

His whole routine had to change in order to deal with Tsukishima's constant pestering. He switched where he ate lunch, where he went after school, and he _never_ went near the volleyball court.

It was two weeks later, his lease on his apartment was finally up. All he had to do was switch out of the school. He had explained his situation to the counselor, who had been very helpful with switching him into the new one. But there was one last thing he needed to do, quit the volleyball team, and only he could do that.

So, the Friday before he left, he wandered towards the court before practice began. He could see Ukai and Takeda setting up. The teen took a deep breath, a frown gracing his freckled face. _Come on Tadashi, all you have to do is say you quit. Then you get to leave and never come back. You can do it!_

As bravely as he could, Yamaguchi walked towards the coaches. Their conversing stopped as they noticed him, both looking rather surprised. "Yamaguchi-kun!" Takeda exclaimed,"Where have you been? The team missed you!"

Yamaguchi ignored the anger building up towards them. They kicked Hinata out, why didn't they ask about him?! He forced a smile on his face, and said,"Well, I've been getting ready to move. That's what I came here to talk to you about."

His heart was beating so loud in his ears, that he couldn't hear the creak of the door opening behind him as he declared,"I'm quitting the team."

"WHAT?!"

The brunette whipped around, wide eyes catching sight of the whole team standing in the doorway of the locker room. Nishinoya and Tanaka had obviously been the ones to yell, while the rest just stared at him, confused and betrayed.

The small second year galloped over to him, pointing angrily. "How could you, Yamaguchi?! Why are you leaving?! You were just getting good!"

"We were gonna be so strong and win for sure next year!" Tanaka cried, throwing his fists in the air.

Ennoshita raised an eyebrow. "This is the first I'm hearing about this.." He muttered,"Why didn't you tell us before?"

"You never told me you were moving!" Tsukishima snapped, oddly sounding quite frustrated.

Sugawara's caring eyes were on him, a hand on his shoulder. "Is everything okay?" He worriedly asked.

"You should have talked to us sooner, this is short notice," Daichi said,"You know we would never be angry. We're a family."

The voices around him, they filled Yamaguchi with rage. They were lies, pure lies. How dare they act kind, after what they put him through. The anger was too much, his rage was unhinged. They were not anything close to a family, they were monsters. He was done, he had snapped.

"SHUT UP!" 

All the voices suddenly stopped, staring at Yamaguchi with befuddled expressions. The teen didn't care anymore, however. He turned, pointing towards all of them. "Don't act so innocent! Don't act like you all care! Not after what you did to HINATA!" He yelled.

While many of the thirds years, and even Ukai remained confused, they eyes of people like Tanaka and Kageyama widened. The brunette didn't stop. He continued to yell,"You all kicked him out, you wouldn't let him watch because of his new disability! You tried to blame him for losing! Hinata is our friend, and you just cast him aside like he was nothing! You told him Ukai was the one not letting him in! How could you hurt him like that!?"

Ukai's eyes suddenly widened, as he looked towards the students. "That's why Hinata wasn't coming around anymore?" He whispered.

"YES!" Yamaguchi yelled, his eyes burning as tears started to tumble down his freckled cheeks. "And then you told everyone it was Hinata's fault! You let him suffer alone! How could you do that?!"

Tsukishima frowned at his friend, scoffing. "Hinata was fine. I don't know what you're-"

"Fuck. You. Tsukishima," The teen sneered,"Don't try and lie! I was there, I watched you tell him he was worthless, useless. You told him that you didn't want to hang out with him because of he is disabled!"

Sugawara gasped, his hand coming to cover his mouth. "How.. How could you do that?!" He demanded. Daichi's eyes had darkened over with anger.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Yamaguchi saw the tall physique of Kageyama. Instantly, he whirled around. "And YOU!" He snarled,"You.. YOU MONSTER! He was your best friend, and you just cast him aside! He loved you, Kageyama! You told everyone he was a stalker, you called him a faggot! Then you told everyone!" 

"Just because I didn't want to be a fag doesn't mean he had to be all sensitive about it-" Kageyama began, but was unable to continue as a fist slammed into his nose. He crashed into the hardwood floor, bringing a hand up to his throbbing nose. The teen cringed, while Yamagiuchi stared at him with clenched fists, and tears falling despite the rage on his face.

"He wasn't being sensitive you asshole! You ignored him for weeks, and then you spread rumors saying that he was a stalker and people started bullying him! They beat him up, broke his brace, and were constantly saying they were going to assault him! HE TRIED TO KILL HIMSELF BECAUSE OF YOU!"

Yamaguchi froze, his hands going limp before he sniffed several times. "You can't understand what it's like to walk in on him swallowing all those pills, wanting to die because nobody cared about him anymore. You did this to him, you monsters.. I never want to see you again. I'm never coming back, and neither will he!"

The brunette turned away, but a hand grabbed his wrist. He whipped his head around, finding Tsukishima hanging on with emotion displayed in his eyes, emotion he had never seen before. But the blonde was too late. Nothing could change what he had done. Yamaguchi stared at him with dark eyes, before yanking his arm away, and storming out of the auditorium. He had done what he had to.

Now it's time to go home.

It wasn't until the auditorium door slammed shut that everyone was snapped out of their reprieve. Sugawara's wet, wide eyes turned towards the younger students. The look of shock and betrayal within them sent pain through those that saw it. But all he did as stare, and it was Daichi who spoke.

"How could you all do that to him?" He whispered,"He was your friend, teammate, family! _How could you_?!"

Sugawara sniffled, his hand going over his mouth as he turned against Daichi. "That's what happened.. Is that why he wouldn't talk to us..? B-because he thought we hated him?!"

Sugawara's darkened eyes turned towards them. "Yamaguchi was right.. You all are monsters.."

He started crying harder, and Daichi led his friend out. Ukai glared down at them all, before firmly stating,"Practice is cancelled until we know more about this. But know this, everyone who was a part of this will be instantly removed from the team."

Kageyama watched them wander away, his dark eyes filled with terror. He turned towards the others. Yachi and Kikyou were glaring at them, Takeda had left the the principal's office. But it wasn't the fact that he was going to get in trouble that bothered him. It was how far he had let things go.

Hinata had tried to kill himself, and yet Kageyama was still trying to tell himself it wasn't his fault. But it truly was… If he had just kept his mouth shut.. But he still didn't regret anything he had done. _Yeah.. not at all.._

The teen turned, wandering out of the auditorium silently, and wondering when the heavy feeling in his chest would vanish.

The train stopped in the familiar beach town near the darkness. Yamaguchi didn't care though, he simply took his luggage and walked towards the familiar house. His heart was beating fast, desperate to see his friend again.

Finally, he reached the house. Everything was dark. _They must be asleep.._ Yamaguchi easly thought. He simply went through the gate, turning to close it. As his back was turned as the sound of a door slamming open reached his ears, causing the brunette to jump.

He turned his head, dark eyes catching sight of that messy orange hair. There he was.. It was Shouyou. His baggy eyes stared at him in shock, as if he didn't expect him to come back.

"Shouyou," He whispered happily, all the pain that previously filled him suddenly vanishing. As if saying his name snapped Hinata awake, he stumbled out of the door way, before throwing himself into the arms of Yamaguchi.

The brunette squealed in surprise, catching the ginger and burying his face into the wild curls as the feeling of his shirt growing wet from Hinata's tears. His own hand went to rub the pale back. "It's okay Shouyou.. I'm back now," He promised

"Please don't leave me again.." A hoarse voice whispered, causing Yamaguchi's heart to skip in shock. He.. he just spoke! It was weak, and soft, but it was definitely Shouyou.

With butterflies in his stomach, Yamaguchi whispered,"I'm not going to leave anymore, never again."

Those chocolate eyes turned up to him, glimmering with happiness. The brunette smiled back, and took the ginger's hand in his. Together, hand in hand, they walked back into their home. In that moment, Yamaguchi realized the truth. Everything was going to be okay. Maybe sooner than later, or later than sooner. But it didn't matter.

As long as they had each other.


End file.
